Facts speak louder than statistics

Saturday, 7 February 2015

One thing Labor supporters like to do in defence of the
Rudd/Gillard era of economic vandalism and the high borrowing ways of Labor in
general is to pretend that the Howard era was actually a debacle that was of no benefit to Australia. They’ll bleat that the only way the Howard government
paid down debt was by asset sales and follow this with claims Howard had left the
country economically in bad shape.

Somehow this perspective justifies Rudd/Gillard taking
Australia from a negative debt position to over $350 billion worth of debt within
six years. Howard paid down debt by asset sales after all, Labor could have
done that, anybody can do that so runs their logic. This of course ignores that
it was the Hawke/Keating Labor government that got the asset sales ball rolling.
$3 billion worth of assets were sold outright and $3.4 billion in shares were sold
only the money obtained by Labors asset sales didn’t actually pay down debt.

So without the spin let’s take a look at the situation and
the numbers, in 1996 the Howard government inherited the $96 billion debt from the
previous Fraser and Hawke/Keating governments. To pay down this debt
the Liberals continued with the Labor policy of selling assets. $11 billion
worth of assets were sold outright and $53 billion in shares were floated for a
total of $64 billion that was used to pay down the debt.

$96 billion minus $64 billion leaves $32 billion, this
remaining amount was also paid down and not by the proceeds of asset sales. Not
only was the debt paid but there were regular budget surpluses and by the end
of the Howard government the Future Fund was in place holding $50 billion and
there was $20 billion in the bank that was providing the budget with $1 billion
in interest per year. If this was all solely down to the asset sales without
any real economic skill then the Howard government certainly knew how to
stretch a dollar.

During the nine years of the Howard government Australia functioned
as a welfare state, was running continued budget surpluses, unemployment was
low, the cost of living was at reasonable levels and the debt was gone.

Under the subsequent Rudd/Gillard government the surpluses
were gone, the money in the bank was gone, the debt was back bigger than ever
and accompanied by corresponding cuts to services and welfare to help fund the
interest repayments. Job losses were high, business closures were high and the
cost of living was exceptionally high yet it was actually Howard who left the country
in bad shape?

Sunday, 1 February 2015

.There is a belief out there
that the ALP have learned their lesson from their 2012 defeat and they are all
penitent and wouldn’t dare do the same things again. The fact they presented
themselves as the saviour of Queensland and the LNP as the people wrecking
Queensland just shows us the deception continues with the ALP.They were presenting the
proposed asset leases by the LNP as asset sales and as the worst thing anyone
could do and behaving as if their own hands are clean on the issue. After deliberately
going into the 2009 election concealing their true plans they started selling or
leasing assets as well as cutting services. The actions taken by the ALP
massively pushed up the cost of living in Queensland.The reason the ALP sales and cuts is because they had taken Queensland’s debt from $15
billion to $89 billion in the space of a year and needed funds to pay the
interest on the debt. The debt didn’t decrease though as they kept on
borrowing.This election result and
getting themselves voted back in at all has been an amazing feat by the ALP, they
created the problems Queensland has, they cast the people trying to fix the
problems in a bad light and then the ALP presented themselves as the people to
fix everything.And the LNP got voted out
for doing the job they were voted in to do.

Well, I have to
congratulate Labor/Union Party on what looks like being a win and certainly a
loss for Campbell Newman. The swing must be massive, but did Labor gain this
swing, or are the people of Queensland completely unaware of what they have
done? Yes, I believe that is what has happened.

Firstly, until the people of this once fine country, wake up to
the fact it is impossible for a government to set and execute an agenda within 3 short years, particularly if left a
fiscal mess as the LNP was, we will continue along the path we are going, which
is self-destruction.

Secondly, until our two major parties
have massive shake-ups we will continue to have the only option of electing
people that do not have the capability to run a multi-billion dollar
"organisation". Many of our "representatives" are there
because they can't get a job elsewhere or because of the need for greed and/or
power. These are not the types we want or need.

Thirdly, until the younger
generations of Australians cease with the "gimme gimme gimme"
attitude (and a few older generations), our country will forever be the mess it
is now.

On that note, from here on
in, I shall join many in this group and become part of their "gimme gimme
gimme" society. No longer will I sit back paying taxes and getting nothing
for them. For every tax increase imposed or, in the case of a Labor government
every deficit increase, I shall demand more and more and more.

YEP, if you can't beat 'em,
join 'em running this country into the ground.

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Welcome to World Central, an independent page presenting straightforward news, views and attitudes. Looking for what's right as opposed to just looking right and presenting the facts, not the fantasy and certainly not the ideology. This page is not designed to offend, the intent is to find the facts and present them to the world.The opinions expressed here are the editor’s and do not represent any other persons, company, organisation etc. The opinions posted in the comments section are the opinion of the person posting them.